Carol Bradford: Use ground covers to cut mowing time

CAROL'S TIP: Young Farmer to Old Farmer: How do I get rid of yellow nutsedge? Old Farmer: Sell the farm.
Yellow nutsedge is a weed that commonly comes in on purchased topsoil or mulch, as it did here. The weed also gets into lawns, where its yellow-green color and rapid growth rate make it conspicuous. Yellow nutsedge can be controlled by hand pulling or by specific herbicides applied by a professional in spring. Broad-leaved herbicides are not effective against grassy weeds.
Courtesy of Carol T. Bradford

Dear R.S.: The idea of using a groundcover plant to edge the borders is an excellent one. Bird's foot trefoil is an agricultural crop and would have a hayfield look, to my mind. There might be better choices.

Luckily, a goal of the Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell University is to help cut down on mowing and trimming chores, especially those involving herbicide use. The brochure "Weed-Suppressive Groundcovers" summarizes the uses of various groundcover plants, many of which are gorgeous. The plants turn out to be good at keeping down weeds as well. The brochure and a related fact sheet are available for download.

Groundcovers that creep into the lawn, like bugleweed (ajuga) or lily-of-the-valley, are annoying. Avoid plants that spread by rhizomes, underground stems. Choose clump-forming plants or those that sprawl or spread above ground. They are much easier to control.

Establishing a new planting bed for flowers or vegetables is a job for the next few weeks. Prepare the site by removing any large perennial weeds. Layer grass clippings and compost several inches thick. Cover the area with cardboard. Large flattened cardboard boxes work well. Secure the edges with ground staples or wires bent into a "U" shape.

Then add several inches of clean mulch from a reputable supplier. Bulk mulch that is contaminated with weeds like yellow nutsedge or horsetail causes a tremendous amount of trouble for customers. The new bed should be ready for planting in the spring. Another option is to seed the area around the lawn with a seed mixture that is "low-mow." There's no such thing as "no-mow" here. Natural unmaintained areas in Central New York quickly revert to brush and then to forest, because trees are the vegetation most suited to the soil and the climate. Mowing once or twice a year will be necessary, as will weeding.

Prairie Nursery, P.O. Box 306, Westfield, Wis., 53964; 1-800-476-9453, prairienursery.com/store/ sells custom seed mixes suitable for many different conditions, including a "deer-resistant" mix and prairie mixes for heavy clay soil. Prairie seed mixes contain both wildflowers and grasses. The lawn seed mixtures contain a mix of fine fescue type grasses that can be mowed or not

Carol T. Bradford, of Syracuse, has been gardening in Central New York for more than 25 years. Send questions in care of Home & Garden, The Post-Standard, P.O. Box 4915, Syracuse, NY 13221, by fax to 470-2111 or by email to features@syracuse.com. Letters might be edited for space and clarity. »